Harappan / Indus Civilization (2500 BC - 1750 BC)

Harappan / Indus Civilization (2500 BC - 1750 BC)

Names of the Civilizations

• The oldest name is – Indus Civilization.

• According to archaeological tradition, the most appropriate name – Harappan Civilization

(Harappa was the first site from which a city buried under the earth was discovered.)

• British historian A.J. Toynbee called the Indus Civilization – 'Indic Civilization'.

• According to the geographical point of view, the most suitable name is – Indus-Saraswati Civilization.

(the largest concentration of settlement – along the Indus-Saraswati river valley; 80% settlement along the Saraswati)

Chronology

• The most accepted period – 2500 BC - 1750 BC (by Carbon-14 dating).

• John Marshall was the first scholar to use the term ‘Indus Civilization’

Cultural and Historical Context

• The Indus Civilization belongs to the Proto-Historic Period (Chalcolithic Age / Bronze Age)

Geographical Spread

The Indus Civilization was spread over:

• Sindh, Baluchistan, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Western U.P., and Northern Maharashtra.

• Scholars generally believe that the Harappa-Ghaggar-Mohenjo-Daro axis represents the heartland of the Indus Civilization.

Key Sites (Geographical Extremes)

Northernmost site

• Earlier: Ropar (Sutlej) / Punjab

• Now: Manda (Chenab) / Jammu-Kashmir

Southernmost site

• Earlier: Bhagatrav (Kim) / Gujarat

• Now: Daimabad (Pravara) / Maharashtra

Easternmost site

• Alamgirpur (Hindon) / Uttar Pradesh

Westernmost site

• Sutkagendor (Dashk) / Makran Coast (Pakistan-Iran Border)

Urban Centers

• Capital Cities:

  • Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro

• Port Cities:

  • Lothal, Sutkagendor, Allahdino, Balakot, Kuntasi

Note: the largest site of the Indus Civilization, the largest Indian site of the Indus Civilization.

Common Features of Major Cities

Systematic town-planning on the lines of the 'grid system'.

• Use of burnt bricks in construction.

• Underground drainage system (giant water reservoirs in Dholavira).

• Fortified Citadel (exception – Chanhudaro)

Unique Site: Surkotada (Kutchh district, Gujarat)

• The only Indus site where the remains of a horse have been found.

Agriculture and Crops

Main Crops

• Wheat and Barley

• Evidence of the cultivation of rice in Lothal and Rangpur (Gujarat) only.

Other Crops

• Dates, mustard, sesame, cotton, etc.

• Indus people were the first to produce cotton in the world.

Domesticated and Wild Animals

• Sheep, goat, oxen (ox & cow), humped and humpless bull, buffalo, boar, dog, cat, pig, fowl, deer, tortoise, elephant, camel, rhinoceros, tiger etc.

• Lion was not known to the Indus people.

• From Amri, a single instance of the Indian rhinoceros has been reported.

Trade and Commerce

• Trade and commerce – inland and foreign, overland, riverine, and oceanic – was the mainstay of the economy of the Harappa Civilization.

• There was extensive inland and foreign trade.

• Foreign trade with Mesopotamia or Sumeria (Modern Iraq, Bahrain, etc.) flourished.

Exports of the Indus Civilization

Agricultural products, cotton goods, terracotta figurines, pottery, certain beads (from Chanhudaro), conch-shell (from Lothal), ivory products, cop, per, etc.

Metal Use and Trade References

• A very interesting feature of this civilization was that Iron was not known to the people.

• The Sumerian texts refer to trade relations with 'Meluha', which was the name given to the Indus region.

Indus Sites Outside India

• Shatughai and Mundigaq were the Indus sites found in Afghanistan.

Intermediate Trade Stations and Foreign Finds

• The Sumerian texts also refer to two intermediate stations – Dilmun (Bahrain) and Makan (Makran coast).

• Susa and Ur are Mesopotamian places where Harappan seals were found.

Cotton Production

The Harappans were the earliest people to produce cotton (It was called 'Sindon' by the Greeks).

Economy and Exchange

• As there is no evidence of coins, barter is assumed to have been the normal method of exchange of goods.

• Lothal was an ancient port of the Indus Civilization.

• The Indus Civilization was primarily urban.

Polity and Governance

• There is no clear-cut evidence of the nature of polity, but it seems that the ruling authority of the Indus Civilization was a class of merchants.

Religion and Worship Practices

• The Harappan people didn't worship their gods in temples.

• No temple has been unearthed.

• An idea of their religion is formed from the statues and figurines found.

Goddess Worship

• The most commonly found figurine is that of Mother Goddess (Matridevi or Shakti).

• There is evidence of the prevalence of Yoni (female sex organ) worship.

God Worship

• The chief male deity was the Pasupati Mahadeva, i.e., the lord of Animals (Proto-Shiva), represented in seals as sitting in yogic posture, surrounded by four animals (elephant, tiger, rhin, and buffalo) and two deer appear at his feet.

• There was the prevalence of Phallic (lingam) worship.

Religious Beliefs

• Thus, Shiva-Shakti worship, the oldest form of worship in India, appears to have been part of the religious belief of Harappan people (esp. humped bull which is comparable to Nandi bull, the ride of Lord Shiva, Trident/Trishul which is inscribed on pottery shreds found from Chandigarh).

Other Religious Practices

• The remains and relics also reveal that zoolat, i.e., animal worship and tree worship (esp. peepal), were in vogue in those days.

Script and Writing

• There is evidence of pictographic script, found mainly on seals.

• The script has not been deciphered so far, but the overlap of letters on some of the potsherds from Kalibanga shows that writing was boustrophedon or from right to left and from left to right in alternate lines.

• It has been referred to as Proto-Dravidian.

Note: The oldest script in the Indian subcontinent is the Harappan script, but the oldest deciphered script is the Brahmi script, known from about the 1st century BC. Most of the later Indian scripts derived from Brahmi.

Seals and Symbols

• Steatite was mainly used in the manufacture of seals.

• The humpless bull is represented in most of the Indus seals.

• Inhumation or complete burial was the most common method of disposal of the dead.

• The origin of the "Swastika" symbol can be traced to the Indus Civilization.

Decline and Cultural Links

• Indra is accused of causing the decline of the Indus Civilization – M. Wheeler.

• The Rigveda speaks of a battle at a place named 'Hariyumpia', which has been identified with Harappa.

• The majority of scholars believe that the makers of this civilization were Dravidian.

Contemporary Civilizations

• Contemporary civilizations of the Indus Civilization – Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China.

Final Thoughts

The Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization, was one of the world’s earliest and most sophisticated urban cultures. Flourishing between 2500–1750 BCE, it spanned a vast geographical area across present-day India, Pakistan, and parts of Afghanistan.

Distinguished by advanced town planning, impressive architecture, and a flourishing trade network—both inland and overseas—the civilization showcased significant achievements in agriculture, metallurgy, art, and craftsmanship.

Despite lacking deciphered written records or visible political structures, its organized urban life, religious symbolism, and technological innovations reflect a highly developed and complex society.

Though its decline remains debated, the Indus Civilization laid foundational elements that influenced later Indian cultures and continues to captivate scholars as a symbol of ancient India's ingenuity and legacy.